Pre-ttc: track ovulation or not?

[itinkthereforeima]

I'm 28 and want to start a family with my husband. We're waiting a few more months before TTC. While waiting, I would like some advice please, because I'm completely new to all this, and don't want anyone to know we're doing this until we have a healthy pregnancy underway. So there's nobody else to share their experiences with us!!

I'm on the pill since my mid teens due to horribly heavy periods. I'm wondering if it's a good idea to come off the pill now, let my hormones settle for a couple of months, get used to dealing with the nasty periods again (ugh) and track my cycle so I know when I'm ovulating?

When it comes to tracking my cycle, what do I need to buy?

Also, should I begin some folic acid supplements now and start limiting caffeine etc.? Probably a good idea to limit that anyway lol!!

Thanks!!

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Yes, I would. I had no idea when I ovulated and just assumed it was day 14 as most apps suggest that.

Definitely start folic acid now and also a vitamin d supplement, or else you can take preconception multivitamins if you prefer.

I’d get an app like Fertility Friend and input all the info in, but never completely trust its predictions as it is just best guesswork. You’ll probably find your cycles are all over the place to begin with but I like cheap opks (Amazon sell them) or you can take your but if you think you’ll be able to each morning without an issue (I never reliably managed it).

Good luck.

Yes come off the pill asap, it can take a while for your cycles to settle down.
You can buy cheap ovulation sticks on Amazon that will help to tell you when you're ovulating. Although I found I got recognisable ovulation pains once off the pill.
I'd start the folic acid (no harm in it) but I wouldn't start limiting anything until a positive pregnancy test tbh

You need to start taking folic acid about three months before you conceive so won't do any harm to start now, take vitamin d too, you can get from boots combined pill of the two. I came off 6 months before to allow my cycles to calm down as it can be a bit hit and miss after the pill. Buy yourself some OPK sticks and from day 10 pee on them to try and work out when you ovulate, won't do any harm and use an app to keep all the data together. I recommend ovia

Thanks so much for your responses! I went shopping just now, got an ovulation kit, pregnancy tests, conceiving supplements for me and a general supplement for shift worker DH whose diet leaves a lot to be desired some days...!
I guess with the caffeine thing, I drink buckets of tea at the moment so I'd rather reduce it gradually from now rather than have withdrawal symptoms when pg! Upping my water intake now too... And I'm gonna return to yoga class to strengthen up my wimpy muscles...

I guess I also need to blurt out a bunch of thoughts here too... The decision to start TTC was a gradual thing we talked about over the last year or so, but two things made us feel ready sooner... First, in late March or early April (I forget), I was very late, even though I was still taking my pill religiously, because we had decided not to TTC yet at that point. I did a pregnancy test, which was negative, but I told DH afterwards that weirdly, I actually felt disappointed... and he said actually he felt that too! So that made us feel we should bring our TTC sooner, but we were vague about when.

Fast forward to the day I started this thread, I woke up with a weird sensation down below, thought it felt like an early bleed or something coming out, ran to the loo expecting some kind of mess in my PJs, but nothing! The weird sensation took most of the day to go away. But my brain made a crazy jump from "early bleed" (which has never even happened in my 12 years on the pill) to "What if I'm miscarrying?" which I know makes NO sense whatsoever, but then I got genuinely upset about the mere thought of such a thing, even though it had never crossed my mind before! I had to talk to DH for comfort, and then when I felt calm again, I said maybe this is a sign that we should start TTC soon? It made me realise I felt very much ready to go through the craziness of trying and hopefully starting a family. He thought about it for the day and following morning told me he agreed. I popped off to Boots for my aforementioned TTC shopping, but...

I haven't stopped feeling a general weirdness since that day. I feel tired a lot, I'm strangely sensitive like being petted on the arm hurts, I'm clumsy and a bit forgetful for no apparent reason (work is much quieter atm so not due to stress), and bad smells are annoying me more than usual so I'm checking the bin and the litter tray almost constantly... Oh and I'm rather moody, which is not normal for me!

I'm still not even finished my current pill packet, so testing is pointless right now anyway, but all these things make me wonder if I'm already pregnant. I know I'm probably not, and it's probably just coincidence combined with me having read some pregnancy info to prepare myself for TTC, but all these weird feelings are starting to make me feel frustrated because I dunno what the heck is going on! I'm afraid of convincing myself that it must be pregnancy so I need to just vent here and help myself come to my senses!! It could be hormonal but completely unrelated to pregnancy so I need a grounding slap in the face like in the movies [rofl] and also I promise I'll keep track of what I'm feeling in case I need to see the doc about anything... But yeah, feeling slightly crazy right now...